US Domestic News Roundup: Missouri's sole abortion clinic awaits ruling; Harris challenges Biden on race and more

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

U.S. seeks life in prison for neo-Nazi who killed Heather Heyer in Virginia protest

The self-described neo-Nazi convicted of killing Heather Heyer by ramming his car into a crowd protesting a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017 will learn on Friday whether he will spend the rest of his life in prison. Prosecutors urged a federal judge in Charlottesville to impose the harshest possible sentence on James Fields, 22, after he pleaded guilty to federal hate crime charges connected from the Aug. 12 attack, which also injured 19 people.

California regulator considers penalty against PG&E in 2017 wildfires

California utilities regulator has opened a case to evaluate and consider penalties against power and gas utility PG&E Corp for its involvement in the fierce wildfires that killed 46 people in Northern California's wine country in 2017. The proceeding will evaluate findings in the California Public Utilities Commission's (CPUC) Safety and Enforcement Division (SED) investigation into whether PG&E violated any rules during the wildfires, CPUC said Thursday.

U.S. border facility gives tour after accusations of neglect

U.S. immigration officials took reporters on a tour of a Texas migrant holding facility on Thursday that was still overcrowded a week after lawyers raised concerns about conditions. The McAllen facility - known as Ursula for the street it is on - is one of two Texas migrant holding centers accused by immigration lawyers of violating a legal settlement governing the treatment of minors in immigration detention.

Missouri's sole abortion clinic awaits ruling on whether it can stay open

Missouri's only abortion clinic awaited a decision on Friday whether it can stay open until August, when an arbiter will hear Planned Parenthood's challenge of the state health department's refusal to renew the clinic's license. Planned Parenthood, the women's healthcare and abortion provider that operates the clinic, filed a petition with Missouri's Administrative Hearing Commission on Tuesday after the group challenged the state health department's denial in state court and a judge referred the matter to the commission.

Pride and protest: Stonewall rally to look back and ahead

Activists from around the world will rally in New York's Greenwich Village on Friday to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the birth of the LGBTQ movement and decry a wave of Trump administration policies they view as a setback for their cause.

The anniversary marks the moment on June 28, 1969, when patrons of a Greenwich Village gay bar called the Stonewall Inn rose up in defiance of police harassment. The unrest triggered a national and global movement for equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and other queer people.

Trump fumes as Supreme Court blocks census citizenship question

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday handed President Donald Trump a stinging defeat, blocking his contentious citizenship question planned for the 2020 census because officials gave a "contrived" rationale and prompting Trump to suggest an extraordinary delay in the constitutionally mandated population count. Conservative Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the 5-4 ruling, joined by the court's four liberals, that will make it difficult for the Trump administration to add the query even if officials offer a new explanation for its need, with the clock ticking toward the deadline for printing the census forms.

Defense contractor consolidation a security concern: U.S. Air Force acquisition head

The number of major U.S. defense contractors has shrunk to the point of becoming a national security concern, according to the U.S. Air Force's acquisition head, who said his service needed to have more frequent competitions to benefit smaller companies. The comment came after U.S. President Donald Trump this month expressed concern that United Technologies Corp's plan to combine its aerospace business with that of Raytheon Co could harm competition and make it more difficult to negotiate defense contracts. The $121 billion deal would be the sector's biggest-ever merger.

In breakout debate performance, Harris challenges Biden on race

Presidential candidate Kamala Harris dominated her Democratic rivals in a debate on Thursday, confronting front-runner Joe Biden on race and calling his remarks about working with segregationist senators "hurtful." In a breakout performance, the daughter of a black father from Jamaica and an Indian mother was at the center of several heated exchanges during the second night of debates among Democrats vying for the right to challenge Republican President Donald Trump in the 2020 election.

Turkish court rules to keep U.S. consulate employee in custody

A Turkish court ruled on Friday to keep an employee of the U.S. consulate in custody as his trial on espionage charges continues, in a case that has damaged relations between Washington and Ankara. Metin Topuz, a Turkish translator for the Drug Enforcement Administration at the consulate in Istanbul, has been in custody for 21 months. The next hearing in the case was set for Sept. 18.

In victory for Trump, U.S. House Democrats back down on border aid bill demands

Democratic leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives backed down to President Donald Trump and passed a $4.6 billion aid package to address a migrant surge at the U.S.-Mexico border without the additional protections for migrant children that liberals had sought. Trump, the Republican-controlled Senate and moderate Democrats insisted on finishing the emergency aid bill as soon as possible, without further haggling over demands for greater migrant safeguards and reduced immigration enforcement spending.